Sleeping issues

Jan25

Hullo. I am new here! I have OA in my hip and in my knee. I can get around especially if I do my special physio and stretching programme but it is the pain and discomfort at night which I can't bear. Little sleep equals anxiety and depression for me and I am so tired I don't want to do anything. Any advice please! I do use a pillow but not working re knee pain currently.

[Deleted User]

Hi @Jan25

Welcome to our Online Community, thank you for taking the time to join us, we are a friendly group of people, so we hope that your experience with us is helpful.

Sorry to hear that you have OA in your hip and knee, pleased to hear the exercising is helping, as they are an important part of managing the condition.

It can be difficult if you are unable to sleep at night, because as you have said lack of sleep can affect you in other ways. Have you thought about getting a support cushion to use in bed, there is an organisation called Living made easy who would be able to give you advice and support in finding the right one for you.

Also, it may be worth speaking to your doctor about Capsaicin cream, which is a drug free complementary treatment, which is recommended for osteoarthritis and has been given a score of 5/5 for effectiveness for this condition, it is only available on prescription from your GP. When applied in the form of a cream it is thought to provide pain relief by temporarily changing the way our body process pain which works by reducing Substance P, a pain transmitter in your nerves. If you were to get the cream, it can be applied 4 times a day so you could apply it before you go to bed and hopefully you can get a better night sleep.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/complementary-and-alternative-treatments/types-of-complementary-treatments/capsaicin/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/managing-symptoms/sleep/

Best wishes

Chris (Moderator)